President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) met with his Swiss counterpart shortly after arriving in Geneva, on his way to the G7 summit, this Monday (15).
Lula is among several leaders who are not part of the group, but were invited by France, the host country, to participate in the discussions.
The meeting, which will take place between June 15th and 17th, in the French city of Évian-les-Bains, will be attended by the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
There is no prediction of one. The Palácio do Planalto decided not to request a new meeting, on the grounds that there is no motivation for this, given the recent meeting between Lula and Trump at the White House.
The leaders of the G7, made up of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, the world’s main developed economies, will discuss the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, global economic imbalances and the supply of critical minerals outside of China, currently the main supplier of these resources.
In his speeches at the summit, Lula is expected to criticize “unilateral” and “protectionist” measures without mentioning US tariffs, according to sources at Palácio do Planalto.
With Trump present, the PT member will not make explicit mention of tariffs, but will give messages, guarantee Brazilian diplomats. The assessment is that there is no place, in a multilateral summit, for targeted criticisms such as those that the PT member addresses in speeches in Brazil.
Summit Commitments
At the G7, Lula will return to the central idea of his speeches at G20 and Brics summits: that emerging countries need more space in global debates.
Brazil will participate in sessions open to guests. On Tuesday (16), the discussion will be about international partnerships. On Wednesday (17), the theme will be balanced economic growth. That same day, there will be a lunch dedicated to discussing the actions and accountability of big techs.
Also planned are bilateral meetings. So far, meetings have been confirmed between Lula and the Prime Minister of Japan, Sanae Takaichi, and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, who is hosting the event.
Bilateral with Japan
At the meeting with Sanae Takaichi, Lula will discuss the negotiation of a free trade agreement between Mercosur and the Asian country.
The president’s aides indicate that talks about Mercosur-Japan are progressing and that negotiations could be launched during the G7 or at the summit of South American countries, scheduled for the end of the month in Paraguay.
Launching negotiations means, in practice, establishing the basis for bargaining between the sides and announcing the start of negotiations. The meeting between Lula and Sanae Takaichi is considered strategic for this to happen.
Palácio do Planalto assesses that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs have encouraged countries to seek alternative partners and boosted negotiations of this type. Mercosur is currently experiencing the most powerful moment in its history when it comes to free trade agreements.
*With information from Danilo Moliterno from CNN Brasil
